Could there really have ever been any other game at the top of this list but Red Dead Redemption? Rockstar's homage to Sergio Leone ditched the gangsters and the glitz of Liberty City for the gunslingers and the grit of the Wild West.

A tale of revenge set against a sweeping desert backdrop, the story of John Marsten's rise from one-time ruffian to Legend Of The West was breathtaking.

This was mostly thanks to the living, breathing, totally believable world Rockstar had created with meticulous attention to detail. Excellent missions and side quests made the single player modes a joy from start to finish, while gathering up a posse of pals and riding out on your steed online was just as satisfying.

The recent Undead Nightmare add-on pack throws zombies into the mix too if that floats your boat, and Rockstar again turned a potential cliche into unmissable content. Without doubt game of the year.

2 Mass EffECt 2 pC, Xbox 360 £34.99-£49.99

Kids born in the 1970s got Star Wars, kids in the '90s/'00s got Mass Effect - and that's the biggest compliment I can pay Mass Effect 2. Continuing Commander Shepard's exploits across the universe, this time he was on the hunt of the Reapers, an alien race harvesting humanity for some cruel purpose.

Better gunplay and an even more epic tale combined for one of the most exciting adventures of the year. I can barely wait for Mass Effect 3.

3 SUPER MARIO GALAXY 2 Wii £39.99

In a year dominated by gritty realism, this little beauty burst onto the Wii like a kid in a sweet shop. Classic Mario platforming through and through, its mini-planet levels meant you were constantly on your toes and overcoming new obstacles. It also saw the welcome return of sidekick Yoshi.

Some people reckon it's the best game ever made in terms of its sheer pound-for-pound fun factor. It's without doubt Mario's finest outing since his Nintendo 64 days.

4 CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS pC, Wii, Xbox 360, ps3 £39.99-£54.99

It takes some doing to follow up the biggest game of all time, but Call Of Duty: Black Ops took the challenge in its stride. Stepping back from Modern Warfare's futuristic setting and instead thrusting players into Vietnamese jungles and Cold War-era paranoia, it was another blockbuster shooter with Hollywood voice ttalent to boot.

As ever though, COD's main draw lies in its multiplayer modes, and with the added ability to now gamble crucial experience points, every headshot counts.

5 HALO: REACH Xbox 360 £49.99

A series potentially taking its last curtain call, this was the swansong the premier sci-fi first person shooter deserved. A fittingly sweeping prequel story that sets the scene for the entire franchise, it was a satisfying and grand ending (or beginning, depending on how you look at it) to the series. Though we may shed a tear, Halo lives on in Reach's stellar multiplayer suite, offering enough variation and action to see the Master Chief into retirement.

6 STARCRAFT 2: WINGS OF LIBERTY Pc £44.99

While it didn't reinvent the RTS rulebook, Starcraft 2 never had to. The sequel to one of the most beloved strategy games of all time, Blizzard essentially took its ageing sci-fi war game and gave it a fresh lick of paint. Sound a little disappointing? You'd be wrong. Starcraft 2 has a riveting single-player campaign and a scarily addictive competitive multiplayer suite. You'll easily lose hours here, especially when you delve into in the robust modding tools.

7 GOD OF WAR 3 PS3 £49.99

If this is to be Kratos's last hack-and-slash adventure, then at least he went out with a bang befitting an Olympian. Perhaps the PS3's finest exclusive hour this year, Kratos was on a god-slaying spree. Gallons of blood and some of the most gargantuan enemies ever committed to disc made it a sight to behold, but it's Kratos's silky skills with whatever weapons come to hand that kept us coming back for more.

8 F1 2010 Pc, Xbox 360, PS3 £29.99-£49.99

The best Formula One season in years got the game it deserved. With Codemasters and the team behind Dirt 2 and Grid taking the helm, F1 2010 stands as one of the most faithful re-creations of a sport you're likely to get your hands on. The visuals are photorealistic, the sense of speed is immense and there are smart touches in the career mode - such as rivals playing dirty after you've dissed them in a pre-race press conference. At times it can be unforgivably tough, but F1 2010 is never less than absorbing.

9 ASSASSINS CREED: BROTHERHOOD Xbox 360, PS3 £49.99

We all got a little edgy when Ubisoft announced this. Essentially AC 2.5, it sounded like a quick shameless buck when they said it was going to be big on multiplayer features. How wrong we were. Not only were those multiplayer modes as thrilling as any other aspect of the series, their backstabbing antics were in many ways superior. The single-player quest around Renaissance Rome was also as thrilling as it was beautiful to behold.

10 LIMBO Xbox 360 1200 mS points (equates to £9.99)

This was a revelation when it hit Xbox Live earlier this summer.

Visually stunning, it used its charcoal colour palette to silently tell a tale of a lost boy travelling through a harsh and frightening nightmare. Puzzles were of the highest calibre, and while brutal in their instant death outcomes, were always logical and passable. Quite simply the best downloadonly game we've ever played.